Sleep Apnea Treatment

Question by : sleep apnea my hubby is 53 and he stops breathing 98 times in a hour at the sleep study he has a cpap machine?
he does not use the cpap mask all the time he will fall asleep and not put it on till 2 am or so he jumps up during the night several times with leg spasms and if he drinks 4 oz of tonic water he has less leg spasms he complains of chest pain a lot and he is an insulin diabetic his numbers are most of the time 2 or 300 for his sugar 2 years ago he had 17 iskcemic episodes hope i spelled it right and we found out he has 2 carotid arteries blocked 98% and 99% he was also diagnosed with copd onset anyway now he has an enlarged prostate but wont go for the checkup to see what,s going on there how dangerous is he really living ? i try to tell him he wont make it to 55 he just laughs about it cant seem to make him understand its not a joke he is going to die if he don,t start taking this seriously am i right?

Best answer:

Answer by PRINTS
Maybe he’s a little dizzy from the lack of oxygen from that arterial blockage going to the brain!! You already know he needs to get in and be taken care of. Have they checked the other arteries that lead to the heart? Blockages don’t just stay in one place. He would need an MRI or whatever REAL test is done, not just the office checks that don’t show everything. Those sort of things can slip by if you don’t have a dedicated doctor. My dad went in and found out he had severe blockage in the arteries around the heart. He also had diabetes and did not know his sugar numbers were very high. He would put up with the pains in the chest and just take the medication that would help alleviate them as they happened. His doctor did not do what he needed to. If your husband does not want to do anything about this, is is in danger. You can’t force him, but hopefully he cares about everyone and wants to be around.

Find a really good heart doctor to start with and have his arteries really checked. If he is not taking this seriously, then he probably won’t change his diet, but he needs to cut down on all sugar and STARCHES, carbohydrates. The diabetic diet is a very healthy diet, but people who simply want to be healthy should eat a lot of raw/fresh fruits and vegetables. That should not be only considered a diet for sick people. He needs to stop eating all foods that cause inflammation (carbohyrates). I hope he takes this seriously and you have a doctor who won’t put up with lack of cooperation. If not, shop around until you find one – and very soon!

Add your own answer in the comments!

Question by sarahb: I took a sleep study ad was diagnosed with mild sleep apnea and hypoxemia?
Well, anyways my doctor has me on a oxygen macine with the nose cannulla, and sleep with it at night, the first night I did the oxymonitor test which checks my blood oxygen levels with the machine on and they got down to 53. Well she is going to have me do the oxymonitor test again tonight without the machine, and see how low my levels get to. Does anyone know what other tests she will do from there if my levels are way off again? I believe she will probably have another sleep study done because the last one I had from a previous doctor who did nothing, that’s why I changed, so I’m thinking she might have her own done, but what would she after this? What could possible be wrong with me if my levels are this low at night, they are fine during the day, just when I sleep. Please give me suggestions on what you think.

Best answer:

Answer by Michelle
They drop to 53%?? That is not good at all.

I’m a little confused about what is going on here, though. You were placed simply on a nasal cannula? No CPAP machine? Unless that is what you mean by oxygen machine. IF you have sleep apnea, simply placing you on a nasal cannula would not do a whole lot of good. I’m going to assume that you have obstructive sleep apnea, since it is more common. If this is the case, then you need a CPAP machine to keep your airways open. If your airways are not open then you dont get the oxygen and your levels will drop until you wake up and start breathing again. If I misunderstood your terminology, I apologize.

If you have already been diagnosed I don’t understand why your doctor wants to see if your levels will drop into the 40s. If anything she should try higher cpap levels or something. I’d be sure to read up on the subject of sleep apnea if I were you, and ask your doctor about all of this.

What do you think? Answer below!

Question by Sapphire: Looking for a Polysomnogram – Sleep Apnea FREE STUDY!?
I am a disabled F/T student & not working. My healh plan is Kaiser HMO, but they CONTINUE to decline a Polysomnogram study req. My primary care doctor told me on 8/23/07 to give it till October 07 & if symptoms continue, she will consider MY REQUEST of referring me to UCSF sleep lab, but DECLINED on two occasions. I am very frustrated with Kaiser & my overall care. Apparently, Kaiser only does the over night pulse oximeter testing that I already had done & does not perform over night studies, known as Polysomnogram. I have been having severe breathing problems, esp. at bedtime. My oxygen continues to drop several times at bedtime (i.e. 86-88%) This is not normal for me, let alone anyone. COULD ANYONE REFER ME TO A POLYSOMNOGRAM FREE SLEEP STUDY. I have been looking on www.clinicaltrials.gov and www.clinicalconnections.com for several months, but no luck. I live near S.F. CA, but willing to travel somewhat to do this study. Pls, adv, as I have been in/out ER several time

Best answer:

Answer by Just Me
I really dont know where you could get a free sleep study. Have you tried checking with the Mayo Clinic?? That may be a good place to check into. Some sleep labs will actually workout a plan with you based on hardship, but its something you will have to look around and see what kind of deal you can work out. You can try working something out with local Sleep Centers, you may be surprised at what they are willing to do. Healthcare is tough, you would think sometimes a person health is more important than money, but unfortunately our country doesn’t work that way. Good luck in your quest and best wishes.

What do you think? Answer below!

Question by Shay: I just had a sleep study for sleep apnea….?
I had it done last night and they had me all wired up and monitored my brain waves, breathing, O2 levels, ect all night long. This morning they tole me that I started having “episodes” as the Dr. put it, as soon as I feel asleep and woke up off and on all night long, was only in REM sleep for less than 10 the whole night, my O2 levels kept dropping and I stopped breathing often. In a few days they are going to have me do another sleep study, except this time, put a CPAP mask on me. Are those uncomfortable? Do they seem to help? I’m so tired all the time and have a bad headache every morning because of this. Anyone else with this problem, I’d like whatever info you have, thanks.

Best answer:

Answer by Ed
Yes the CPAP mask can be uncomfortable. If you have to get one, just ask
if you can get the one that just covers the nose.

It’ll definitely help you sleep and you’ll feel more rested once you get used to
wearing one.

Good luck.

Give your answer to this question below!

Question by Horhay: What would I study if I wanted to engineer devices to aid sleep?
I have a lot of sleep issues. Insomnia, severe obstructive sleep apnea and delayed sleep phase syndrome. I’d like to work in the realms of sleep. I’m curious as to what I ought to major in to do this. I’m currently considering biochemistry as the university I’m attending doesn’t have a biomedical engineering undergraduate program.

Anybody with some insight would be much appreciated.
After digging through the academic programs at my university (Northern Arizona University), I found the Bachelors of Science in Biomedical Science. While it’s not an engineering degree, it does seem promising.

I’m reading about the masters programs at various universities, specifically Stanford University. They write in their admissions requirements:
“Students will be expected to enter with a series of core competencies in mathematics, biology, chemistry, physics, computing, and engineering.”

However, they don’t explain what they mean by competencies in computing and engineering. Can anybody tell me what they mean by this? It sounds rather cryptic and non-specific.

Best answer:

Answer by Technobuff
Mechanical (and electrical/ electronic?) engineering, and sleep disorders (medicine).

Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!